Hank Shocklee Is On Beat – Interview Now On Medium

“Music doesn’t exist in a vacuum, man, and neither does music happen sequentially. It all morphs…styles, and cultures shift each other.” The words from Hank Shocklee resonate deeper than an 808 kick. Here was a man directly responsible for shifting the public perception of what drum machines and samplers could do, in the process redefining music during the golden age of hip-hop, now nearly thirty years later still in tune with the latest musical trends and technology.

Hank Shocklee, is as excited today about what is happening with music tech as he was when he got his first sampler: “The software has just gotten to the point where it is seamless. You can cross platforms, stretching the boundaries of video, as well as music,” says Shocklee. “You can do things like interactive performances and not really see equipment. Mapping body movements, creating almost a concert conducting performance with just the movements of the body. People think that this revolution is at its apex already. No, it’s just beginning.”